While we have been hip deep in looooong threads for the last, uh, year [OMD Rock G.P.A., Ron Kane, Metamatic DLX RM, King Crimson live, etc.], I’ve not exactly been ignoring reality outside of my window; though it can seem like that, I’ll grant you. I’ve been a sort of casual Soft Cell fan since 1981, but when any interesting band is going to release a 10-disc box of rarities and I’m not responsible, it can get my attention.

The Boxed Set Of God

Entitled “Keychains + Snowstorms,” it will be released on Friday, September 7th and it features 9x CDs + DVD of technically non-LP material from everyone’s favorite seedy Leeds synth duo. Here it is.

UK | 9xCD + DVD | 2018

Soft Cell: Keychains + Snowstorms UK 9xCD + DVD [2018]

Disc 1 : The Phonogram 12″ Hits 1981-1984

Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go 8.57

Bedsitter 7.52

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye 8.56

Torch 8.29

What 6.10

Where The Heart Is 9.46

Numbers 9.49

Soul Inside 11.12

Down In The Subway 7.50

Disc 2 : The Phonogram B Sides 1981-1984

Tainted Dub/Where Did Our Love Go? 8.51

Facility Girls (12″ Version) 7.17

Fun City 7.33

Insecure Me (12″ Version) 8.16

So (12″ Version) 8.44

It’s A Mug’s Game (12″ Version) 8.11

Barriers (12″ Version) 7.10

You Only Live Twice (12″ Version) 6.58

Her Imagination 5.20

007 Theme 3.27

Disease & Desire 4.04

Born To Lose 2.55

Disc 3 : New Extended & Reworked Mixes

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Dave Ball Lateral Mix) 7.08

Youth (Dave Ball Wasted On The Young Mix) 5.41

Secret Life (Extended Mix) 5.17

Chips On My Shoulder (Extended Mix) 6.14

Facility Girls (2018 Mix) 7.43

Heat (Alternative Version) 6.04

Kitchen Sink Drama (Extended Mix)

The Art Of Falling Apart (Extended Mix) 8.47

Martin (Hallowe’en Mix) 6.14

Barriers (Dave Ball Broken Down Angels Mix) 7.09

Meet Murder, My Angel (Extended Mix) 6.00

Slave To This (Life Of Existence Mix)

Disc 4 : Rarities, Alternative Versions and Curios

The Girl With The Patent Leather Face (Original Version) 4.57

A Man Could Get Lost (Daniel Miller Vocal Edit)

Memorabilia (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing Version) 5.21

Forever The Same (Unreleased Extended Version) 10.58

Heat (US 7″ Version) 4.01

Loving You, Hating Me (Special USA Mix) 7.45

Martin 10.13

Hendrix Medley (Hey Joe, Purple Haze, Voodoo Chile) 10.22

Numbers (7″ DJ Version) 4.26

Down In The Subway (7″ Remix Version) 4.21

L’Esqualita (7″ Version) 4.22

Soul Inside (Demo) 5.21

So (Dave Ball Demo Outtake) 3.16

Disc 5 : The Early Years 1978-81

Memorabilia (Original Daniel Miller Mix)

Persuasion (Original Daniel Miller Mix)

Metro MRX (Flexipop Version)

A Man Could Get Lost (Daniel Miller Demo)

The Girl With The Patent Leather Face (Demo)

Tainted Love (Demo)

Bedsitter (Demo)

Potential (From Mutant Moments EP)

L.O.V.E Feelings (From Mutant Moments EP)

Metro MRX (From Mutant Moments EP)

Frustration (From Mutant Moments EP)

Red Tape, Sticky Tape (Demo – Previously Unreleased)

Martin (Original 1980 Demo)

Paranoid (Black Sabbath Cover)

Science Fiction Stories (Demo)

Bleak Is My Favourite Cliché (Demo)

Cleaning Fanatic (Demo)

Mix (Demo)

A Man Could Get Lost (Original Version)

Walking Make Up Counter (Live at Leeds Polytechnic, December 1979)

Occupational Hazard (Live at Leeds Polytechnic, December 1979)

Persuasion (Live at Leeds Polytechnic, December 1979)

Dave’s Theme (Previously Unreleased Demo)

Disc 6 : In Session / Reunion / Cruelty Without Beauty

Entertain Me (Richard Skinner Radio 1 Session)

Seedy Films (Richard Skinner Radio 1 Session)

Chips On My Shoulder (Richard Skinner BBC Radio 1 Session)

Youth (BBC Whistle Test)

Sex Dwarf (BBC Whistle Test)

Soul Inside (David Jensen BBC Radio 1 Session)

Where Was Your Heart (When You Needed It Most) (David Jensen BBC Radio 1

Yow! That’s a lotta music! I have to say that if Soft Cell were high up in the core collection, I would be all over this like white on rice. Particularly at the downright comfy price point of £70/$90.22 for ten discs. You, I and the lamppost know that within two years this could easily be trading hands for 2-3 times that price. If I had serious coin to rub together, I should be buying at least one copy of any projects with this scope but that’s not how this Monk rolls. Speculation is a game for those with money. I’m lucky to barely buy the things I desperately want; often years later at more than the asking price but less than a king’s ransom.

My Soft Cell collection is almost as perfect as I need it to be. I have CDs only of:

I got this one as soon as album “made the leap” to CD criminally late in 1988

I only got this a few years back!

Another CD I bought as soon as if hit the silver disc – though my copy is so bronzed, I doubt that it would play!

Another product I bought as soon as it came out, I unloaded my copy a few years back…

For this more convenient 3xCD set that had all of the 10xCD single box and more for 1/10th of the cost.

I bought this in Akron a few years back in a 2xCD configuration

I need to buy a better, modern pressing of “The Art Of Falling Apart” and the bête noir of Soft Cell: a CD of “This Last Night In Sodom.” The still-unheard-after-35 years, “difficult” third album, which as I recall, was on CD from almost day one. The Duo are capping their 40 year history with a big bang. Not only with this ten disc behemoth [you can still pre-order here], but all sorts of material related to their ultimate farewell concert to be held on September 30th. More on that later.

I have plenty of Soft Cell already, quite honestly they don’t do it for me as much as Marc Almond’s vastly underrated solo career does.
There is a new mix of Say Hello, Wave Goodbye on there which I absolutely intend to download from Amazon the second that I can. A fantastic song and I’ll never have enough mixes of it.
I would say if you had to choose between this and the recent Marc Almond solo box go for that one. I don’t think that the Soft Cell material on itwill fill your gaps but it is one of the finer SDE sets that has been made that concentrates on the quantity of quality material and not selling you several disc that often have the same thing reiterated across many discs. Also, trying to be a Soft Cell completionist, while not an impossible to achieve goal, is tough. There’s a ton of stuff out there and it degenerates into a question of “do I really need umpteen mixes of Ruby Red just to have them all?”

Very impressive set from a band I honestly never got into much (aside from their” 80s Lunch Jam” staple). But, wow, amazing box set it many ways. Have you heard the new song “Northern Lights” (missing from this set it seems, but it will be on a new Best Of that comes out when this set does). It is a decent song, but some people think it sounds a LOT Like “Close to Me” (Cure)

dhrichareds – No, I haven’t heard any of the new stuff. I tend to stay in my Record Cell. Don’t get out much into the digital thoroughfares. Sounds like “Close To Me?” One of the better Cure singles from my favorite album of theirs.

I’ve ordered the box set. Some real goodies on there. However some of us on the Super Deluxe Edition site have been moaning that there are still some old B-sides unavailalble on CD. It’s all well and good have modern remixes of old Soft Cell tracks but us completists want ALL previous tracks available on CD. This was the perfect opportunity to rectify that. So a missed opportunity. I would highly recommend the Marc Almond box set too. Alas some tracks on both box sets have been ‘edited slightly’ so they fit on the discs. Another bugbear!!

AndyB – As I have what I think is a sufficient Soft Cell rarities collection, I would more likely spend the cash [if I had it] on the Almond box. I would have thought that all of the B-sides were here, though! If I were a fan at the level that this is pitched at, I’d be annoyed. Especially considering the post-modern remix disc; hardly something I’d sacrifice canonical completion for. Then there are the seven inch mixes of those B-sides in full 12” regalia. I’ve never heard them, and while Soft Cell 12” mixes were definitely best of breed great, I’d still be interesting in hearing the short versions. But editing down tracks to fit is a Mortal Sin in my church!

The Almond box was almost a sure thing for me until I read that their was some track tightening [not sure of the total time saved but given the 10 discs, how much extra for an 11th?] The track issue was important as I have over 30 MA releases (18 + 7 comps & singles) so comparing the tracks was not as easy as I first thought and had to check with some UK guys on Super Del ED website who were doing the same (and knew every variant). Still looking at the SC box too in the same fashion but thank goodness there are less releases to research (plus I need to get better at data extract from Discogs)

PPM – I have a few of those damn PDO rotters from both MA and Soft Cell; still playable only in my original DIscman but a pain to rip as lots of cords are involved and the line out is a bit flaky.

As a bit of a gutterheart myself (er…more than a bit, tbh), I have dozens of Soft Cell and Marc discs, and of course this big box was preordered months ago. But more crucial, I have a ticket in my greedy clutches for their reunion/finale show in London a month from tonight. I hate that this concert is in an arena, but as soon as it was announced I knew I had to be there (even if “there” was a huge corporate echo-y venue). If you’re interested, I’ll send you a review when I return from swinging London. I’ve never seen Soft Cell live, and only saw Marc once for a brief thirty minute track date at the Tunnel, a NYC club “back” in the 90s.

Taffy – Consider yourself invited to review the show! Wow – a Soft Cell virgin at this stage of the game? I would have thought that their “Cruelty Without Beauty” tour would have reached your eyeballs back in the noughts. Doubtless you have also preordered the other package, which we’ll discuss now.

SiminH – Well, it was certainly value for cost. If I were a bigger Soft Cell fan I would have made it happen. A pity with the DVD but I’m sure they’ll sort it out eventually. I had Simple Minds and OMD DVD issues with DVDs included with special packages in recent years. I guess it’s pretty common [rolls eyes].